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Bongani Ndlovu, Showbiz Correspondent

THE National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) has called upon all events to be cancelled around the country for this month and the next in an effort to help Government efforts to protect the nation from the risk of coronavirus.

On Tuesday, President Emmerson Mnangagwa declared the Covid-19 a national disaster and called off national events such as the Independence Celebrations that were to be held ion Bulawayo and the Zimbabwe international Trade Fair in the City of Kings.

All these measures are in place for the next 60 days, which spills over into the month of May.

The NACZ executive Director Nicholas Moyo said this in a statement on Thursday.

“As NACZ we call upon all organisers of World Theatre Day associated activities, meant to be held this March, to cancel them forthwith. The same MUST apply to all other events falling in April within the time frame given by the government.

This is obviously a sad chapter in the arts business in this country as artists and promoters alike will find themselves in a precarious situation as livelihoods are threatened,” said Moyo.

He added that as NACZ they understand these were treacherous times for artistes as cancellations of events meant no food on their tables, but the health of Zimbabweans comes first.

“The current Corona crisis is hitting hard all industries and the creative sector is no exception. In general, the arts sector will in the next few weeks and months face tragedy of unprecedented level.  We applaud the measures taken by government as the nation’s health and well-being comes first.

As NACZ, difficult as it maybe, we call upon ALL stakeholders, stockholders, players and consumers in the cultural and creative industries to step up and comply to the response measures set by the government,” said Moyo.

“Unfortunately, COVID-19 knows no timeframe and knows no numbers, as industry players we need to think people and not event. If players are to put people first and cancel, suspend or postpone events that had been planned already, we will go a long way in contributing in a positive way to the national response.

Moyo commended and thanked others who have cancelled their events before this directive.

Some of the show and art gatherings that were cancelled include, the shelving of the Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI) Indaba by the Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation, shutdown of the three National Galleries of Zimbabwe and the shelving of the Zimbabwe Achievers Awards.

Jah Prayzah has moved his Hokoyo album launch online so as the inaugural Stephen Chifunyise International Theatre Festival has immediately invested in a digital platform and is set to be a new but exciting festival online.

Nigeria’s Burna Boy’s concert in Harare was postponed.

“Some of the promoters that had already signed contracts and paid international artists have already committed to playing their roles in cancelling those major shows. The Burna Boy Concert by Kayse Connect has officially been postponed to a later date to be fixed.

Two concerts bringing in top DJs from South Africa by 2Kings Entertainment have also been postponed. We salute these promoters as they take the lead in protecting creative music consumers from exposure and at the same time complying with the government’s call,” said Moyo.

He concluded saying it was encouraging that artistes and other creatives are helping in spreading awareness about Covid-19.

“In the meantime, creatives, celebrities and ambassadors of various products are stepping up their participation as key communicators on various messages on corona virus. Together we stand to protect each other and together we shall stand to build our economy and our industries inclusive of the creative industry.”